3 prominent footballers who have been assassinated

Shock waves were sent around the World on Friday following the news of the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Abe -- shot dead by a disgruntled Japanese man in his 40s -- had been Japan's longest-serving prime minister having been in office from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020, before resigning due to health reasons.

His death unfortunately brings back memories of times professional football players suffered the same fate.

From an assassination due to an own goal at a World Cup to a home invasion, here are three times the dastardly act of murder, had a footballer on the receiving end.

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In 2015, former El Salvador national team footballer Alfredo Pacheco was shot dead from point blank range with a shot to the abdomen, in the city of Santa Ana, just a few miles off the country's capital San Salvador.

Pacheco who was a defender for El Salvador's national team was also the country's most-capped player. 

But in 2013, the Salvadorean Football Federation banned him and 12 other players for life for match-fixing, messing up his career.

The motive behind his killing which happened two years later, was never revealed, with Police saying that the two other people Pacheco was discussing with at the gas station at the time of the shooting, were wounded.

Pacheco spent his career playing for top clubs in El Salvador, but most prominently, spent a season in the Major Soccer League (MLS), playing on loan at the New York Red Bulls.

He played 86 games for his country.

In 2014, South Africa's first-choice goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa was murdered in a robbery at his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo's house in Vosloorus, southeast of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Meyiwa's death came amid the country's high crime and murder rates and sparked outrage, with the likes of then-President Jacob Zuma, calling for his killers to be found. 

Three people were believed to have been involved in the shooting, but one was arrested and charged in court. He was released a month later due to a lack of evidence.

Meyiwa was given a state funeral, with the then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter calling his killing a "senseless, tragic loss."

Spain's goalkeeper Iker Casillas shared a photo on Instagram of Meyiwa holding Casillas' Real Madrid jersey.

During the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Colombian defender Andres Escobar was shot six times in a parking lot in Medellín, in his native Colombia.

Escobar had, before his return to his country, scored an own goal in Colombia's second group match against the United States during the 1994 FIFA World Cup, inadvertently aiding Colombia's elimination from the competition.

Five days after Colombia's elimination, Escobar went clubbing with his friends but was assassinated by two of three men he had argued with within the parking lot.

It was reported that one of Escobar's killer shouted "Gol!" ("Goal!") after every shot. He died in a hospital 45 minutes later.

Escobar, nicknamed The Gentleman for his clean style of play and calmness on the pitch, played for Atlético Nacional and Young Boys and made 51 appearances for Colombia. His funeral was attended by more than 120,000 people.